I brew Pilsner beer exclusively, typically SMaSH beers. This looks like something I may need to give a twirl.

Great thread! I've read some of the threads that quickly disintegrated because of critical posters. Cheers to pjj2ba for maintaining the friendly tone.

Yeah im new on here and some people on here seem like insufferable douche bags, picking apart other peoples recipes like a bunch of overanalytical nerds. I think some people have forgotten what brewing beer is actually about.

It's been a while since I made this, but I need to give it a review. Great stuff! Urquell is my absolute favorite beer in the world. Period. And we rarely get it here on draft. As an aside, the new packaging for the bottles has increased the quality tenfold here in the U.S.

But back to the review. Carefully brewing this recipe yields outstanding results. When my wife and i tried our first taste, we both said it tastes like Plzen! This is now a regular in our home.

This is to be my first lager - I can't wait! Before I had little interest in investing in equipment for lagering, until I started falling in love with czech pilsners, particularly PU.

pjj, a question, which reveals my pilsner-noobism: Are you using a particular bohemian pilsner malt? In any case, do you think the recipe would taste significantly different with other pilsner malts or 2-row, or otherwise make a big difference in other respects?

I'm looking to buy bulk grain, and I'm not sure if my LHBS will be able to order bohemian pilsner malt. And hell, if 2-row could pull this off, why not save a few?

In the original posting "F B" means Franco-Belges for the Pilsener malt. When I asked PJ about it he let me know that he was investigating other malts. To me it seems that the most important things about this recipe are:

1) The interesting mix of character malts that are simulating decoction

2) The attention to detail in the mash

3) Amazing efficiency...Be sure to adjust the efficiency of this recipe if you give it a try.

With the other malts, I suggest that any high-quality Pilsener malt will be just fine.

This was my first lager of any kind, and I did not do a diacetyl rest. Alas, I found myself with some significant diacetyl. I'm curious whether this recipe requires a diacetyl rest, or if the rest is unnecessary if the fermentation and lagering times are followed to the minimum specifications. There were plenty of reasons why I could have triggered diacetyl independently - may have happened due to some of my practices, along with my shortened secondary/lager time (other kegs kicked unexpectedly). Despite the diacetyl in my botched batch, still a delicious brew underneath! Thanks for the recipe, I have another batch going to work out the kinks.

Diacetyl rest is necessary, if you want to keep it from spoiling the flavor of the beer. I do it on all my lagers and have never had any issues with diacetyl off flavors. This is a kick ass brew, you should have a go at it again and enjoy the experience.